livestock in the southwest collection

The economic importance of livestock (and poultry) is often mentioned. With the opening up of markets, many cite rearing livestock, particularly pigs, as a key way for women to earn money. Not surprisingly, therefore, a priority for many narrators is training in animal husbandry. One woman (China 16), an extension worker, sums it up: "We are too poor. We want to learn how to inoculate pigs and chickens. If we could learn these techniques, the pigs' and chickens' diseases would be greatly reduced…If we could learn the techniques of breeding and rearing [livestock and poultry], we would be off the poverty level, and our life would be much better."

Disease does seem to be a problem. One narrator in her 50s says: "…we bought a buffalo which cost 2,620 yuan. I raised it for only four months, then it got sick and died. I was so sad that I cried for three days. The more I think about it, the madder I become. It took much hard work to get the 2,000 yuan. Later, we bought pigs and chickens, but, all the same, they all got sick and died" (China 9). Several comment on the increasing incidence of infection, as new mountain roads facilitate travel of people and livestock: "The road is good; it's good for the village. But it brings with it pig diseases and chicken diseases," says one elderly woman (China 15). A Wa farmer (China 10) says that the trade in livestock can be another factor: "There are too many people engaging in the business. People want to make money and they don't care whether the chicken is sick or not. They sell them in the market, and the bacteria are easily spread to other places." A few narrators say that there is much less pasture available. This seems partly due to an expansion of arable farming, but also to an increase in goats: "In recent years, we have no place for pasturing, so when you take the livestock out, you have to stand by the side of the fields to avoid the livestock stepping into the [cultivated] fields" (China13).

Looking after livestock is hard work and, it seems, is generally viewed as a woman's task. "Men go out to earn money; women bear the workload of housework and livestock rearing," says a young extension worker, adding "women are happy even the workload is increased. Though it's hard, the women are willing as they are working for themselves" (China 16). Some of the farmers haven't got enough money to make pens or sheds for their livestock, and keeping watch over their animals is a major preoccupation. A Maio doctor (China 12), who visits her home village regularly, sees the building of livestock pens as a clear sign of growing prosperity: "The place has undergone many changes. There's not one family without pigsties and pens, and even the [animal] pens are built of tiles." Another woman (China 24) in a village where there is little or no access to grassland says the next village, although higher up the mountain, is more prosperous - "Their houses are better built than those here" - because "their animal husbandry is quite well developed". Livestock, it would seem, are crucial to poverty alleviation: "There is no development in these places. Really, except for raising livestock, there isn't anything else here. We all depend on livestock for our living" (China 25).

quotes about livestock

"In the past, that whole area was used for pasture. [It] was allocated to us. But now the goats in this village are all taken there. Now it's difficult to find a place for grazing…Now when we pasture the livestock, even if you only have one animal, you have to stay there to keep watch. You have to…watch over them if you have eight or 10 animals…even if you have three or four." Guangzhen, 45/F, Yi, China 24

"…it would be great if the animal husbandry project had extension workers. It would be great if we had our own people to give inoculations to pigs and chickens, because now pigs can be sold at a good price. We are not afraid of working hard; working hard won't kill you."Ah, 22/F, agricultural extension worker, Lahu, China 16

"We haven't raised [any chickens] since last year. When [the last one] was raised up and ready for sale, it got sick. In the past, our chickens seldom got sick… Now the common sickness for chicken is diarrhea... Pigs and dogs also get sick easily."Erguai, 72/F, Wa, China 10

"…our place doesn't have good harvests, and easily suffers... frost… It is good for livestock raising, but we have no money to build sheds…[the animals] are left outside day and night, so that they trample on the wheat. If we… could keep the livestock in the sheds, we would grow corn with plastic film, apply green manure, so that there will be grass in winter for the livestock … [But] we don't have sheds and so the livestock are wandering around everywhere. You cannot control them. In summer, each family's livestock are tied outside by the door."Dingzhen, 54/F, Yi, China 26

"… some people like to buy chicken and meat from other places, so that the pigs and chickens in the village easily get ill [from infectious diseases]."Ah, 22/F, agricultural extension worker, Lahu, China 16

"We have livestock but no sheds for them. My goats are tied to the door. [Laughs] Horses are tied to the door too… In winter, they are tied up in the house. There is a sty for the pigs and a pen for the goats. It's too small for the large livestock." Guangzhen, 45/F, Yi, China 24

"Doing business will not work [for women]; it's better to develop in animal husbandry, which can be managed at home… [so] you can stay home to raise some chickens, pigs, goats, buffaloes and horses. Then you take some to sell, and that's [how you get] the money."Guangzhen, 45/F, Yi, China 24